Many hard core mixed martial arts fans are probably already familiar with Master Rafael Cordeiro and his “Kings MMA” gym in Huntington Beach, California.
For those who may not be, Cordeiro is a former Brazilian MMA and Muay Thai fighter who at one time was affiliated with the famous Chute Boxe Academy. Four years ago he opened the “Kings MMA” gym in Huntington Beach and recently expanded the gym to double in size. He trains such big names as Tito Ortiz, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Munoz, Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, and Wanderlei Silva. He even helped Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua prepare for his UFC 134 bout with Forrest Griffin.
Speaking to Tatame.com, Cordeiro talked about one of his favorite fighters, Wanderlei Silva, as the former PRIDE champ prepares for his upcoming UFC 139 bout with Cung Le in San Jose. Despite Silva’s devastating knockout loss to Chris Leben in Silva’s last fight, ‘The Axe Murderer’ is “pouring his heart out” preparing for this upcoming match.
Is Wanderlei training with you guys for Cung Le?
He’s here, he’s practically living here. He’s done a marathon here, he’s pouring his heart out on the trainings. We’re having good results on the trainings with Werdum, Babalu, Munoz, Dida, quality guys. And he’s doing great. We’re much confident because of the work we’ve been doing here.What are your expectations for this fight? Is this a good match-up?
It’s a very good fight, it’s a good match-up. Both likes to strike, they move forward. It’ll be a great fight, very busy. We’ll do everything in our power to bring this win home. We’ll be clever about it. If we have to fight for three rounds in order to get the win, we’ll do it. We’ll respect Cung Le, who has a great history in the sport and is a true martial artist.
Silva faces Le on November 19 at the HP Pavilon in San Jose, California. The two veterans are set to co-headline the pay-per-view card.